Clip-on pedals (Read 1659 times)

I love my clipless pedals. It took a little while to get rid of that walking on ice feeling when I first got them, and after not riding for a couple years and then getting back on the bike I had to "relearn" not to stop and flop. Thankfully, after another couple year break, I didn't have any of those issues getting back on.

What are clipless pedals? Why would I need or want them? What's wrong with the old-fashioned kind? MTA: ditto for toe clips. What are those?

Toe clips are the plastic cages that attach over a normal pedal that you push your foot into so that you can pull up on the pedal when on your upstroke. Clipless pedals are pedals that have a bracket that attaches to the bottom of your shoes and literally turns your shoe into a part of the pedal. Clipless pedals are the most efficient in terms of energy expenditure when trying to ride, but even toe clips are better than just having a flat pedal. It lets you use the entire revolution of the pedal to move the chain as opposed to only being able to use the downstroke, which involves shifting your weight from side to side as you ride. To get out of toe clips, you need to lift your foot a little and pull your foot backwards. To get out of clipless pedals, you normally need to rotate your foot out between 30° and 45° so disengage it. When you first start using them, your foot can move back and forth on the pedal without coming unattached, so it feels as though you are trying to walk on ice until you get used to it. It also takes a little getting used to get into and out of the attachment on the pedal, so that what often happens is that you come to a stop and start to lean over but your foot is still attached to the pedal and you can't disengage it in time to keep from toppling. Hence, stop & flop. Most new riders to clipless pedals will often disengage one foot but then lean towards the other foot.

Thanks, Blaine. That makes it clear. It sounds like toe clips would be painful on the top of the foot Do you just wear regular shoes with them? Do you have to buy special shoes for the clipless? or do you attach something to your own shoe of choice? Is there options on where the 'clipless' attach? I have problems with my metatarsels and have been using regular 'old' flat petals so I can push with more of my arches rather than the ball of the foot. Do I have options? TIA.

a) no toe clipsstraps arent painful...they are usually pretty loose and you can wear any shoe with them. They would prevent you from pushing with your arches unless you had them so loose they were useless. There are also more hi-tech toeclips that would work better with certain shoes. b) yes you have to have special shoes and the clips are pretty fixed...only a little adjustment room. On the other hand since you can pull with the upstroke instead of pushing down, you may end up with less pressure on your metatarsals.

Thank you, Blaine. Knowing about bikes, this really helped. Obviously I'm considering triathlons in the (far distant) future, so I was kind of curious about this stuff. Obvious question: what are the advantages of clipless pedals vs. toe clips? Do any triathletes use old fashioned pedals? I'd think with the toe clips you could wear your running shoes and transition easier to the run. What am I missing?

Toe clips are lethal and should be avoided as depending on the sole of your shoe it is sometimes hard to bail out. Clipless are far better as they equalise the pedal stroke as demonstrated by the fact that you can pedal with just one foot. The trouble is that for a start you will always fall off if you are lucky it is on the grass if you are unlucky it is under a truck. If you cycle regularly you will pick it up quickly if not I should imagine you might have continual problems. If you are just starting I'd suggest double sided MTB pedals set as loose as possible.

Thanks again, Blaine. Good info. One last question, are the clipless shoes rigid enough that downward pressure is distributed along the foot or do you feel it all in the forefoot? I suppose I'd have to try them. I was leaning towards clips as an intermediate step but you guys don't seem to have much good to say about them.

Thanks again, Blaine. Good info. One last question, are the clipless shoes rigid enough that downward pressure is distributed along the foot or do you feel it all in the forefoot? I suppose I'd have to try them. I was leaning towards clips as an intermediate step but you guys don't seem to have much good to say about them.

I've never actually used any shoes other than the 1 pair that I have, which aren't as rigid as normal road bike shoes. Next time I get on my bike (hopefully later this week) I'll pay a little more conscious attention to it, it isn't something I've ever paid attention to since I haven't had the same problems.

Anyway, the bike just has regular pedals....no clips or straps of any kind. Should I be thinking about getting clips on it....is there a major fitness or muscle stregthening advantage? Or will I still get most of the benefits of biking (as a form of cross-training) with just the normal pedals?

You'll get most of the cross training benefits w/normal pedals, if not all of them. Clipless pedals (and even clips to a degree) become more important as you ride more miles for (a) comfort, (b) performance, and (c) ease of riding. If you are just tooling around on your bike to cross train, you can still get good exercise w/o spending the extra money, and if you don't ride often enough to get used to the clips or clipless pedals then you are better off w/o them anyway.

Thanks Blaine....I was hoping it wasn't going to become more complicated for me Tim

Biking caters itself to gear queers even more than running does. For a run, you need something to hold the vitals from swinging and (for most people anyway) a pair of shoes. For a bike ride, you need a bike and some tire pressure. Depending upon where you live, you may be legally required to wear some other clothing. Other than that, it's all just extras. A watch or sunglasses or a helmet or clipless pedals or GPS might make things more enjoyable for you (or it might not) but they aren't actually necessary in order to get benefits.